How to Import Gmail to Outlook Using Outlook Import Tool

Microsoft is trying its best to gain more users to the Outlook email service. Perhaps this is why they have started a new Gmail Import web app using which you can import your Gmail messages and contacts over to the Microsoft Outlook email service. The app is not able to make any changes in the Gmail settings. It just imports your contacts and existing email messages to the Outlook folders. However, in the end it displays instructions about how you can setup Gmail to forward your future messages automatically to your Outlook account.

If you want to import your Gmail messages to Outlook, then you can follow these instructions:

First of all, sign on to your Outlook email account in your web browser. Once logged in, click on the gear icon and select More mail settings from the drop-down menu.

This would open inbox options page. Under the Managing your account section, click on Import email accounts.

On the Import email accounts page, click on Google. The small letters say “Gmail and contacts” indicating that only email messages and your contacts will be imported.

This will open an options popup where you can choose to import email messages either into existing folders or create new folders for your Gmail account. Because Gmail uses labels while Outlook uses folders, this app creates new folders in Outlook with same name as labels in Gmail.

After you have signed on to your Gmail account, you will be shown a prompt where you can allow Microsoft Outlook app to access your Gmail account. This is necessary for the import to take place. Just click on the Accept button to proceed.

That’s all. Once you have given permission to this app, it will keep importing your Gmail contacts and messages in the background. Depending on how many messages you have in your Gmail account, it can take a long time to finish. You can close your web browser, shut down your PC and go to sleep. When the import has been finished, you would receive a new email message in your Outlook account informing you that your import has been completed.

Outlook email import tool is not able to make changes to your Gmail settings. So it sends you an email message on your Gmail account with complete instructions on how to setup email forwarding so that all your future Gmail messages get forwarded to your Outlook account. It’s up to you whether you want to setup forwarding or not.

Verdict: The Gmail to Outlook import tool certainly makes it very easy to import Gmail messages and contacts to Outlook. But whether you really would want to switch over to Outlook from Gmail remains a question of personal choice. In my opinion, Gmail is still faster and more stable, and I am going to stick with it in the foreseeable future.